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I have a 44t narrow wide coming to the Bike Rack tomorrow. For now I might just put the old big ring back on, but going forward I think I need a chainguard. Anything I should know about chainguards?

Are you getting a clutch RD? If so, you shouldn't need a chain guard. If not, then you might want something if you expect to.ride over rough terrain (or potholed streets). When I ran 1x on the MTB pre-narrow-wide, I used a Drop Stop chain cather for inside and a bash guard in 2t larger size for the outside (e.g. a size-34 bashguard with my 32t ring). I may have had some rub of chain on bashguard in the small cogs/high gears. I would probably run without a bash guard/chain guard and see how it stays on even without a clutch RD.

It's not that I'm worried about dropping the chain, it's that I want to use the single narrow-wide without changing out the triple.

Yeah, that won't be a problem. You just need shorter chain ring bolts. Or the SRAM 1x rings come with washers/spacers that allow you to use your 2x bolts with a single ring. I have always used a double crankset (which is same as a triple crankset as far as how the middle and outer rings attach) with 1x rings. (For my setup a double crankset makes more sense because the chain line is more correct for 135mm rear spacing, but for you a 1x would be correct chain line for the 130mm rear. Probably mount the narrow-wide ring on the inside of your crankset -- where your middle ring used to be -- if it will clear the chain stay.)